Below I have a crappy drawing of my system. I am looking for a headunit for it. Preferably something with no internal amp, i pod ready, and still avalible (sp?) at a dealer. (insurance reasons, have to have a reciept.) I am really into sound quality hence the 30 band. Not really interrested it the pioneer 880. ( I have all of this sitting around but the amps) I have mainly looked into Alpines and Eclipse. I keep hearing everyone talk bad about the new alpines, so I am all for ideas. The solid lines are the rca runs and the striped lines are the speaker runs. Sorry fo the crappy pic.

You seem to be in the same boat i'm in. First question is how much do you wanna spend? I'm looking for basically the same things as you are and have been comparing the following...

Eclipse CD8445 or CD5000

Kenwood X890

Pioneer 880PRS or 780mp

All right around 350 except for the CD5000. Having a hell of a time deciding. Good luck to you.

yacob.naif

11-05-2006, 09:41 PM

all good choices

most high end units still have amps, but they're defeatable for increased output voltage/less heat

KRD

11-05-2006, 09:47 PM

Money really is not a big issue. The more it cost the more I will save. That is why I got the second job. :up2somet:

BlkonBlkFG

11-05-2006, 10:41 PM

Good luck since money aint a thang...haha

KRD

11-05-2006, 11:07 PM

not that it is not a thing, but I have no problem saving more to get what I want.

ToyTundra

11-05-2006, 11:57 PM

not that it is not a thing, but I have no problem saving more to get what I want.

smart man. buying once>buying one of everything

I would help you, but i'm in the same HU-less boat

KRD

11-06-2006, 07:55 AM

Been lookin at the eclipse cd5000 and the kenwood KDC-x990/890. either of those good for what I am lookin for. Still lookin for one with no amp.

Mike Troll

11-06-2006, 08:06 AM

I dont think there are any headunits available (atlesat brand new at a retail store) that dont have internal amps. If I were you I would look into the Eclipse CD7000 has everyting you need and more.

dalucifer

11-06-2006, 08:36 AM

since it seems like you only need a pre amp (a dead head), look into some older alpines..You had also mentioned you are willing to save up and and spend a little more..Look into Mcintosh, Denon or Nakamichi

yacob.naif

11-06-2006, 02:27 PM

not that it is not a thing, but I have no problem saving more to get what I want.

it's always best to set a budget, regardless of how disciplined you are with saving money, because without a set budget, there's always something a tiny bit better, and a tiny bit more expensive out there

and regardless of how much you spend, and how much 'better' you end up than with a lesser deck, once the novelty wears off, it's just your radio, and features you're not actually going to NEED may as well not be there anyways

and working extra time, and saving extra amounts of money just for a hobby is a little overkill, since the time you're spending you'll never get back

i would definitely advise you to set a budget, and stick to it, it'll help to keep you from getting too carried away

KRD

11-06-2006, 04:21 PM

the one thing I do not about the cd7000 is the gps controled volume. I am sure that you can turn it off, but I think I like the cd5000 more. (except no detach face)
Nakamichi, isn't that the jap verison of clarion? I would consider an older alpine if I could find one retail. I have to have the reciept for insurance reasons. I am going to a shop wednesday to play around with the cd5000.

JimJ

11-06-2006, 04:23 PM

and working extra time, and saving extra amounts of money just for a hobby is a little overkill, since the time you're spending you'll never get back

i would definitely advise you to set a budget, and stick to it, it'll help to keep you from getting too carried away

And the time listening to a compromised system is time you won't get back either :D All just a question of where the point of diminishing returns lies...

jdmteg2nv

11-06-2006, 05:59 PM

+1 for the cd5000

yacob.naif

11-06-2006, 06:01 PM

all i'm saying is you have to draw the line between good enough and just splitting hairs.

i'm obviously not promoting cheap gear, i've got quite a bit invested myself, but you definitely have to draw the line somewhere.

Just because there's better gear out there doesn't mean that you really need, or would even appreciate the difference in the extra time and money spent.

Even with only ~$2k total invested in my current system, i already feel i've sacrificed a great deal to get where i am, and if i hadn't drawn the line, and decided that this is all i'm doing it's just an endless process of sacrifice, saving money for something better that might come along later.

I'm personally looking forward to getting my doorpods finished and installed next weekend so i can stop spending time/money on my car, and have something i know i can be proud of, and actually have some money to spend, and regain atleast something that could be considered a social life.

KRD

11-06-2006, 08:15 PM

I understand what you are saying, but I am building this car to be enjoyed. It is a 1977 trans am, that has been in my family for a long time now.